What happens if the US can't pay its bills? 'Catastrophe'

(NerdWallet) - A few short weeks are left for Congress — or, perhaps, President Joe Biden — to take action and lift the debt ceiling before tick, tick, tick … boom goes the economy.The so-called “X-date” — when the federal government can no longer meet its legal obligations — could be as early as June 1, according to a May 1 letter from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to Congress. Yellen reiterated the same sentiments in another letter to Congress